I’m sad over loss of 341 lives in South Africa flood, says Buhari

By : Terhemba Daka, Abuja

Date: 16 April 2022 5:06am WAT

Volunteers and members of the public clean up the massive debris at the North Beach following heavy rains eaelier the week in Durban, on April 15, 2022. The death toll from South Africa's "unprecedented" floods climbed to 341 on Thursday as helicopters fanned out across the southeastern city of Durban in an increasingly desperate search for survivors. With roads and bridges washed away by freak rainfall this week, rescuers battled to deliver supplies across the city, where some residents have been without power or water since April 11, 2022. RAJESH JANTILAL / AFP

President Muhammadu Buhari has expressed sadness over the flood disasters in Kwazulu Natal Province of South Africa that have so far claimed 341 lives, saying he was “unspeakably devastated.”

Reacting to the calamity yesterday in Abuja in a statement signed by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, the President said: “I’m greatly shocked by this large-scale natural disaster which has caused widespread sufferings and fatalities in our sister country.”

He explained that, “the disruption of water and electricity supply, as well as the destruction of homes, makes this natural disaster one of the worst in our recent memory.”

While extending his sympathy to the government and people of South Africa, President Buhari urged other African leaders “to work together towards developing common and effective strategies for improving our emergency management response systems that will help us significantly reduce the human and economic impacts of natural disasters and impending climate change.”